12 Jun 2019
It is the biggest London derby in years and it takes place over 2,460 miles away from the capital city. We have the insight, analysis and odds for the 2019 UEFA Europa League final.
WHEN IS THE 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL?
The 2019 UEFA Europa League final will be played on Wednesday, May 29. In an all-English and final, the match sees London sides Chelsea taking on Arsenal. Owing to the four-hour time difference between the UK and Azerbaijan, the final will start at midnight (BST) and conclude in the early hours of May 30.
WHERE DOES THE 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL TAKE PLACE?
The 64,000 capacity Olympic Stadium in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, will host the 2019 Europa League final. In recent years the venue stadium has hosted the 2015 European Games and the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games.
THE ROAD TO THE 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
Chelsea won the Europa League in 2013. They have won five European trophies to date, with the others bring the Champions League (2012), Cup winners’ Cup (1971, 1998) and the UEFA Super Cup 1998.
Arsenal’s European pedigree is not as rich. They have managed to lift two European trophies, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994 and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970.
However, between 1998-99 and 2016-17, Arsenal qualified in 19 successive UEFA Champions League seasons, an English football record. They have reached five other European finals, but finished runner-up on each occasion, the last coming in the 2006 Champions League.
The Genting Casino football odds have Chelsea are slight favourites at 11/8 to beat Arsenal inside 90 minutes in Baku after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties to progress to the final. The two sides were locked at 2-2 on aggregate following extra time in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are 4/6 to lift the Europa League trophy, should the clash end in a stalemate after 90 minutes. The draw is available at 23/10.
Arsenal cruised through their two-leg semi-final with Valencia thanks to a clinical hat-trick by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the second leg in Spain. The 4-2 win at the Mestalla Stadium meant the Gunners reached the final 7-3 on aggregate.
Arsenal are 2/1 to win inside 90 minutes and 6/5 to lift the trophy.
TOP TRENDS FOR THE 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
Of their 197 meetings, Arsenal have won 77, Chelsea won 63 and 57 clashes were drawn.
Each side won their respective home meeting in the Premier League last season, with Chelsea defeating Arsenal 3-2 in August, while the Gunners earned a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium in January.
Chelsea have won two of the last 10 meetings with Arsenal and they are 17/20 to score the first goal.
Both sides scored in six of the last 18 meetings in all competitions. Six of the last 10 meetings yielded three goals or more. It is 7/10 that both sides find the net in normal time and 10/11 that there will be over 2.5 goals scored before referee Gianluca Rocchi blows the whistle to start extra time (should it be needed).
Arsenal have conceded at least once in their last seven games in all competitions and so it is no surprise to see them at 5/2 to keep a clean sheet.
Chelsea won one of their last five Premier League games to end the season in third place. They are 10/3 to win the Europa League in 90 minutes but to concede at least once.
Arsenal won two of their last seven Premier League games to miss out on the top four and automatic Champions League qualification next season. They finished fifth in the Premier League, a point behind Tottenham. The Gunners are 17/4 to win the trophy in normal time but fail to keep a clean sheet.
TEAM NEWS FOR THE 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
Danny Welbeck has travelled with the Arsenal squad to Baku, despite not having played a minute of competitive action since suffering a broken ankle in the group game against Sporting Lisbon on November 8, 2018.
It is a significant boost to boss Unai Emery to have the experienced England international – who is expected to be on the bench – as another attacking option.
The Gunners will be without Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan who will be unavailable due to the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He may have played his last game for the Gunners, who are making plans to sell the 30-year-old in the summer.
Despite assurances from UEFA and the Azerbaijani authorities, he decided in consultation with his family that he would not be safe, particularly on the pitch. It is a cruel blow and Arsenal rightly demanded a meeting with UEFA over what they have described as an “unacceptable” situation.
It is not an unprecedented situation, as earlier in the season Xherdan Shaqiri was left out of Liverpool’s trip to Red Star Belgrade because of his Kosovar-Albanian heritage.
There is no doubt Mkhitaryan will be missed, despite only providing six goals and seven assists in 39 appearances this season.
Exciting youngsters Bukayo Saka and Xavier Amaechi have been included in Emery’s squad and are both likely to be on the bench.
Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored eight times in the Europa League this season and he is expected to lead the line again. Aubameyang is 7/5 to score at any time and 7/1 to score two or more goals against a Chelsea side that conceded just nine goals in 14 games, including eight clean sheets.
Arsenal expect Petr Cech to be in goal, despite the fact that it has been reported he will join Chelsea as sporting director next season following his retirement. Cech has featured in 10 of Arsenal’s 14 Europa League games, although Bernd Leno has kept his place for Premier League games. The dilemma for Emery is whether to allow Cech to play in what would be a swansong before joining Chelsea. The Gunners need to win to qualify for next season’s Champions League, so there is perhaps a conflict of interest.
Chelsea will be without Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who are both recovering from Achilles tendon injuries, and Antonio Rudiger is also missing with a knee injury. There are also fears that France international N’Golo Kante could miss out. The midfielder suffered what was described as a “potentially serious” knee injury in training on Saturday, having just recovered from a calf problem that he picked up against Watford at the beginning of May.
This adds to Maurizio Sarri’s problems, as he is also sweating on the fitness of Jorginho, who suffered a knock in an open training session last week.
However, Ethan Ampadu has returned from injury and the Wales international will likely be on the bench.
Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud, who has scored 10 Europa League goals this season, is likely to be on the bench, as Eden Hazard, Pedro and Gonzalo Higuain will provide the attacking impetus. Hazard, who is set to join Real Madrid in the summer, would like nothing more than to leave Stamford Bridge with another winners’ medal and he is 7/5 to score at any time and 7/1 to score two or more goals in Baku on Wednesday.
This could also be Sarri’s last game in charge of Chelsea, as reports over the weekend suggest that his departure for Juventus is a ‘done deal’.
To see all the odds on this clash, click here.
HOW TO WATCH THE 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL LIVE
BT Sport will show the game, while subscribers will be able to live stream the game via the BT Sport app. BBC Radio 5Live will have full commentary from Baku.
